Firearm-related violent crime, originally on the decline in Canada, has been trending upwards for the past few years..Violent crimes involving firearms were declining for several years in Canada, but based on a new Statistics Canada (StatCan) report comparing two periods ranging from 2009–2014 and 2015–2020, rates have been on the rise. . Rates of violent crime compared to firearm-related violent crime, 2009 to 2020 .Nationally, StatCan said all measures of crime, including violent crime, declined overall in 2020 during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, although rates of firearm-related violent crime fluctuated from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. .According to the report, there were 8,344 incidents of firearm-related violent crime in 2020 representing 2.8% of all violent crimes reported to police. Although rates were unchanged from 2019, they either increased or decreased in certain jurisdictions in 2020. .Notable increases in rates of firearm-related violent crime include in British Columbia at +34%, the northern rural part of Ontario at +32%, rural Alberta was up +32% in the North and +31% in the South, the Northwest Territories at +23% and Nova Scotia +22%. .Firearm-related violent crime in 2020 was highest in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the Territories. Metropolitan areas with the highest rates in 2020 include Regina, Brantford, Winnipeg, and Saskatoon. . Firearm-related violent crime rates per census metropolitan areas, 2020 .Between 2009 and 2013, rates were on the decline, however they started an upward climb in 2014 and 2015. .In 2020, a total of 743 homicides were reported by police with a rate of 1.95 per 100,000 population. A firearm was used in 277 or those homicides for a rate of 0.73 per 100,000. .After the gradual decrease from 2009 to 2013, rates started to climb again with a single decrease in 2018. In 2013, the portion of homicides that involved a firearm rose from 26% to 37% in 2020. .The report also revealed rates of the firearm-related violent crimes were higher in rural areas — at 46% in the rural south and 39% in the rural north — compared to urban centres and involved more rifles or shotguns as the serious weapon present. In urban centres, 63% of firearm-related violent crime involved handguns. .Victims of violent crimes involving a firearm were less likely to be injured compared to victims where no firearm was present. Victims of violent crimes involving a firearm either were not injured (61%) or sustained a minor injury (22%). .Overall, one in four female victims of firearm-related violence were victimized by a current or former spouse compared to 2.2% of male victims suffering at the hands of their intimate partner. .Police were able to solve the majority of incidents in 2020 with at least one accused identified in 83% of rural North cases, 72% or rural South cases in 54% in urban areas. .Those accused of firearm-related violent crimes were predominately male at 87% in 2020. .Gun-related violence has been a much-debated concern for many years in Canada, hitting front-page news in April 2020 when 22 people were killed in a mass shooting in Nova Scotia. That shooting rampage led to a ban on assault-style firearms. .StatCan said it pulled data from the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey and the Homicide Survey, but indicated "there are still many data gaps related to firearms used in crime." .In Canada, laws require that an individual be licensed under the Firearms Act 1995 in order to own or possess a firearm or to purchase ammunition. Several amendments have been made to the Criminal Code and the Firearms Act over the last decade including in 2012 when Bill C-19 ended the Long-gun Registry Act. .In 2015 and 2019, Bill C-42 and C-71 respectively, introduced amendments related to the restricted and prohibited weapons and to the licensing, tracing, and transportation of firearms. .Following the mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020, the federal government had more than 1,500 models and variants of assault-style firearms, reclassified as prohibited. .The Trudeau government announced last week it plans to move ahead on new gun-control measures "in the coming weeks" following the senseless shooting rampage at a Uvalde, Texas elementary school that saw 19 students and two teachers massacred.
Firearm-related violent crime, originally on the decline in Canada, has been trending upwards for the past few years..Violent crimes involving firearms were declining for several years in Canada, but based on a new Statistics Canada (StatCan) report comparing two periods ranging from 2009–2014 and 2015–2020, rates have been on the rise. . Rates of violent crime compared to firearm-related violent crime, 2009 to 2020 .Nationally, StatCan said all measures of crime, including violent crime, declined overall in 2020 during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, although rates of firearm-related violent crime fluctuated from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. .According to the report, there were 8,344 incidents of firearm-related violent crime in 2020 representing 2.8% of all violent crimes reported to police. Although rates were unchanged from 2019, they either increased or decreased in certain jurisdictions in 2020. .Notable increases in rates of firearm-related violent crime include in British Columbia at +34%, the northern rural part of Ontario at +32%, rural Alberta was up +32% in the North and +31% in the South, the Northwest Territories at +23% and Nova Scotia +22%. .Firearm-related violent crime in 2020 was highest in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the Territories. Metropolitan areas with the highest rates in 2020 include Regina, Brantford, Winnipeg, and Saskatoon. . Firearm-related violent crime rates per census metropolitan areas, 2020 .Between 2009 and 2013, rates were on the decline, however they started an upward climb in 2014 and 2015. .In 2020, a total of 743 homicides were reported by police with a rate of 1.95 per 100,000 population. A firearm was used in 277 or those homicides for a rate of 0.73 per 100,000. .After the gradual decrease from 2009 to 2013, rates started to climb again with a single decrease in 2018. In 2013, the portion of homicides that involved a firearm rose from 26% to 37% in 2020. .The report also revealed rates of the firearm-related violent crimes were higher in rural areas — at 46% in the rural south and 39% in the rural north — compared to urban centres and involved more rifles or shotguns as the serious weapon present. In urban centres, 63% of firearm-related violent crime involved handguns. .Victims of violent crimes involving a firearm were less likely to be injured compared to victims where no firearm was present. Victims of violent crimes involving a firearm either were not injured (61%) or sustained a minor injury (22%). .Overall, one in four female victims of firearm-related violence were victimized by a current or former spouse compared to 2.2% of male victims suffering at the hands of their intimate partner. .Police were able to solve the majority of incidents in 2020 with at least one accused identified in 83% of rural North cases, 72% or rural South cases in 54% in urban areas. .Those accused of firearm-related violent crimes were predominately male at 87% in 2020. .Gun-related violence has been a much-debated concern for many years in Canada, hitting front-page news in April 2020 when 22 people were killed in a mass shooting in Nova Scotia. That shooting rampage led to a ban on assault-style firearms. .StatCan said it pulled data from the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey and the Homicide Survey, but indicated "there are still many data gaps related to firearms used in crime." .In Canada, laws require that an individual be licensed under the Firearms Act 1995 in order to own or possess a firearm or to purchase ammunition. Several amendments have been made to the Criminal Code and the Firearms Act over the last decade including in 2012 when Bill C-19 ended the Long-gun Registry Act. .In 2015 and 2019, Bill C-42 and C-71 respectively, introduced amendments related to the restricted and prohibited weapons and to the licensing, tracing, and transportation of firearms. .Following the mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020, the federal government had more than 1,500 models and variants of assault-style firearms, reclassified as prohibited. .The Trudeau government announced last week it plans to move ahead on new gun-control measures "in the coming weeks" following the senseless shooting rampage at a Uvalde, Texas elementary school that saw 19 students and two teachers massacred.
